Towards Understanding Interdependence of the Climate and Biodiversity Crises

 

Steve Pacala, the Frederick D. Petrie Professor in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Emeritus, presented “Towards Understanding Interdependence Of The Climate And Biodiversity Crises.” Pacala was the first speaker in the spring 2024 HMEI Faculty Seminar Series.

Decades of experimental and observational work have demonstrated strong relationships between terrestrial plant biodiversity and ecosystem-level carbon uptake, carbon storage and water cycling. Professor Pacala discussed work conducted by his lab, over the past twenty years, to develop models of competition for light and water among a very few representative plant functional types that control the exchange of matter, energy, and momentum between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere in the GFDL Earth system models. He explained how physiological and structural diversity among terrestrial plant species maintains very high species diversity, which affects carbon and water cycling, and hence biosphere-climate feedback.

Towards Understanding Interdependence of the Climate and Biodiversity Crises

Publish Date

February 6, 2024

Presenter(s)

Steve Pacala

Link to Video

https://youtu.be/2sO-KPJ9UnY

Video Length

59:43

 

Steve Pacala, the Frederick D. Petrie Professor in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Emeritus, presented “Towards Understanding Interdependence Of The Climate And Biodiversity Crises.” Pacala was the first speaker in the spring 2024 HMEI Faculty Seminar Series.

Decades of experimental and observational work have demonstrated strong relationships between terrestrial plant biodiversity and ecosystem-level carbon uptake, carbon storage and water cycling. Professor Pacala discussed work conducted by his lab, over the past twenty years, to develop models of competition for light and water among a very few representative plant functional types that control the exchange of matter, energy, and momentum between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere in the GFDL Earth system models. He explained how physiological and structural diversity among terrestrial plant species maintains very high species diversity, which affects carbon and water cycling, and hence biosphere-climate feedback.